(from Mini Press
Release) The first Sports Activity Coupe in the premium
segment – and a MINI through and through.

World premiere of the new MINI
Paceman Concept.

MINI is marking an
important milestone in its history by once again presenting a
fascinating new vehicle concept for the MINI family – the MINI
Paceman Concept. Exactly 10 years ago, visitors to the North
American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit witnessed the
relaunch of the MINI brand in North America, which signalled the
beginning of an unparalleled success story. And now the brand is
also preparing to celebrate this landmark anniversary at the NAIAS –
taking place from 10-23 January 2011 – with the world premiere of
the MINI Paceman Concept. This spectacular study vehicle establishes
a totally new category of car with its potential for providing even
more driving fun and an even greater range of usage. The MINI
Paceman Concept could become another building block in the ongoing
development of the brand and its product portfolio.

The MINI Paceman Concept takes the fundamental strengths of MINI –
its uniqueness, go-kart handling, agility, dynamic capability and
individual design – and gives them a fresh twist with the help of
cutting-edge technology and an innovative body concept. It combines
a sporty, masculine appearance, versatility and coupe looks with the
dimensions of the four-door MINI Countryman. And it brings together
the classical MINI concept, the defining features of the MINI
Countryman and the style of a coupe to harmonious effect. The result
is a MINI with visual “muscle car” design cues, which displays its
dynamic capability from every angle and showcases it impressively
both when viewed from the side and in the design of the rear.

The MINI Paceman Concept, whose crossover design makes it the first
Sports Activity Coupe (SAC) in the small car segment, blends
lifestyle elements with premium quality. It is the ideal car for
young, modern, extrovert urbanites who love the hallmark MINI
go-kart feeling, enjoy stand-out individuality, place great
importance on the personality of a brand and buy into its character
and ethos. They are confident types, who live according to their own
style and express their distinctive individuality in a MINI, who use
the big-city mobility the MINI provides to embark on voyages of
discovery through the urban jungle, and who experience driving fun
in its most concentrated form thanks to the excellent ride comfort
of the MINI both in everyday driving and over long journeys.

The masculine design language of the MINI Paceman Concept spotlights
both the stand-alone identity of the concept and its membership of
the MINI family. The four-seater study, whose two large doors and a
wide-opening tailgate mark it out unmistakably as a MINI, imbues the
sporty, cutting-edge Sports Activity Coupe (SAC) category with
undeniable appeal. The platform of the MINI Countryman, with its
hallmark MINI proportions, increased ground clearance and raised
seating position, defines the study’s compact dimensions.

Exterior: Sports Activity Coupe –
urban and masculine.

The MINI Paceman Concept
retains the familiar MINI family front end, but adds its own
distinctive flavour. The large headlights with chrome surrounds
extend far into the front wings and, together with the strikingly
contoured bonnet, emphasise the imposing front end. The MINI Paceman
Concept largely replicates the front grille design of the MINI
Cooper S Countryman. However, additional intakes in the lower
section of the front bumper ensure improved brake ventilation and
combine with the study’s deep-set foglamps to sharpen its sporting
edge. The MINI Paceman Concept’s fresh interpretation of the side
scuttle at the transition from front wing to door houses both the
side direction indicator and an air outlet. The side scuttle has a
broad, sturdy-looking design and leads the eye from the A-pillar
down towards the front wheel, making it an unmistakable, sporty,
wheel-accentuating feature.

Large 19-inch wheels designed exclusively for the study car and dark
wheel arch borders with side skirts highlighted in the same colour
team up with the familiar MINI shoulder line rising up slightly
towards the rear to underline the car’s sporty and powerful
appearance. The MINI Paceman Concept shows off its roof contours
particularly effectively. The flat roofline runs horizontally from
front to rear, where it flows into a wide, transparent-looking
C-pillar. The windows appear to wrap around the car like a band of
glass, with the “helmet roof” – in a strikingly contrasting colour –
suspended on top. The coupe-specific windows taper as they extend to
the rear, and combine with the slightly rising waistline to create a
prominently dynamic wedge shape when viewed from the side. The
classic MINI three-level split of roof, greenhouse and body is again
clearly recognisable in this study vehicle.

“In contrast to the more vertical design of the MINI Countryman,
we’ve given the MINI Paceman Concept a horizontal emphasis and
accentuated the width of the car rather more,” explains Marcus
Syring, Head of MINI Exterior Design, to underline the powerful
appearance of the study. The new interpretation of the traditional
coupe values (the word “coupe” comes from the French “couper”
meaning “to cut off”) produces a new homogeneous coupe tail which
retains the unique MINI charm. Powerful proportions and the muscular
design of the vehicle flanks, with their broad rear wings, reinforce
its unconventional, athletic impression.

The newly interpreted rear lights are positioned at the outer edges
of the rear and underline the dominance of horizontal lines, which
run parallel to one another and emphasise the wide track of the rear
axle. As with the MINI Cooper S Countryman, the rear apron of the
MINI Paceman Concept has a diffuser design. The airflow is
channelled between the twin-tailpipe exhaust on the underbody
section, further optimising the car’s aerodynamic properties. Even
the licence plate recess echoes the form of the air intake in the
front bumper, forging a stylistic link between the front and rear of
the car.

The four-seater car measures 4,110 millimetres in length, 1,789
millimetres in width and 1,541 millimetres in height. In telltale
family style, the MINI Paceman Concept has extremely short
overhangs, which lend particular emphasis to the car’s athletic
stature.

Interior: a blend of modern
functionality and luxurious character.

The interior of the MINI
Paceman Concept deliberately draws from the MINI design language,
yet also comes across as refreshingly new. Behind the study’s
masculine exterior lies an elegant yet sporty core imbued with a
premium sense of quality. The instrument panel of the MINI study is
defined by its distinctive, concave forms and the sporty but
functional impression it creates. Particularly large side air vents
underline the character of the interior, which is defined by
cutting-edge functionality. The central air vents, Centre Speedo and
gearshift lever are given broad surrounds in a contrasting colour.

The slim centre console, which maximises legroom for the driver and
front passenger, melts between the seats into the Centre Rail
familiar from the MINI Countryman, creating a visual and functional
link between the front and rear seats. This unique and innovative
U-profile rail system runs through the middle of the passenger
compartment back as far as the rear seat backrests. Light shades of
leather pervade the interior of the MINI Paceman Concept and lend it
an expressive, luxurious allure. The new interpretation of the
brand’s familiar elliptical door and side trim extends along the
length of the cabin, taking in the B-pillar and emphasising the
length of the interior. At the same time, the communicative and
communal character of MINI cars is clearly highlighted. Embedded in
the elliptical main element are the shaped armrests with large
stowage compartments, ergonomically designed door pulls and the
speakers for the sound system. Behind the sports seats are two
comfortable individual seats, whose backrests merge boldly into side
sections to create fully contoured supports. The “lounge” character
that this creates underlines the individual, unconventional
appearance of the study car and turns every journey into an
experience for the rear passengers, as well as those in the front.

Drive system: powerful and
efficient.

Both from a space point
of view and in its chassis set-up, the MINI Paceman Concept has been
designed to allow the most powerful drive unit currently available
for a MINI to be fitted under the bonnet. The MINI John Cooper Works
1.6-litre twin-scroll turbocharged engine gives the MINI Paceman
Concept the means to achieve top-class levels of sports performance.
The four-cylinder unit develops 155 kW/211 hp and generates maximum
torque of 260 Nm (192 lb-ft), which can be increased to as much as
280 Nm (207 lb-ft) in brief bursts thanks to the Overboost function.

Its MINI Countryman roots give the MINI concept study an ideal
platform for the optionally available MINI ALL4 permanent
all-wheel-drive system. This features an electromagnetic centre
differential positioned directly on the final drive which varies the
distribution of power seamlessly between the front and rear axles.
In normal driving conditions up to 50 per cent of the drive is sent
to the rear wheels, in extreme situations as much as 100 per cent.
Harnessing the power of the brawny four-cylinder engines, in
all-wheel-drive form the MINI Paceman Concept would offer an extra
dose of driving fun through a traction-led, sporty expression of the
agile handling for which MINI is famed.

Chassis: the best handling
characteristics in the segment.

MINI chassis technology
has been further developed for the MINI Paceman Concept to turn the
potential of the extremely powerful engines – safely and with
impressive poise – into inspiring agility. Precise, sporty handling
and excellent ride comfort set the MINI Paceman Concept apart. That
is down not least to the go-kart feeling typical of the brand. The
front axle features MacPherson spring struts with lower track
control arms, while Electric Power Steering with speed-sensitive
power assistance plays a major role in giving the SAC the agility
customers expect of the brand. The multi-link rear axle was
developed on the back of BMW Group chassis expertise and is designed
for use in both the front-wheel-drive and the ALL4 all-wheel-drive
versions of the car.

MINI Paceman Concept: an idea
ahead of the game – once again.

The MINI Paceman Concept
embodies the idea of an incomparable driving experience in a way
that meets the needs of a modern, lifestyle-oriented target group
but also stays true to the character of the brand.

With the MINI Countryman having already opened up a fascinating new
avenue in the expansion of the brand family, the designers are now
tapping into the potential of its state-of-the-art drive technology
and flexible space concept once again to develop additional usage
options in a coupe sibling. The
MINI Paceman Concept prioritises a particularly emotional driving
experience and demonstrates this ability in a style typical of the
brand. Here you can find clear evidence of how totally new vehicle
concepts can still be developed today through unconventional
creativity.